Ahmad Huseinzadeh () also known as Sheikh Ahmad Salyani — third

Sheikh ul-Islam Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning " elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim scholar. Though this title generally refers to men, there are also a small number of ...

of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, maternal grandfather of

Ali bey Huseynzade Ali bey Huseyn oghlu Huseynzade (; ; Salyan, Azerbaijan, Salyan, March 7, 1864 – Istanbul, March 17, 1940) was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani writer, thinker, philosopher, artist, doctor, and the creator of the modern Flag of Azerbaijan. Early y ...

Early life

He was born in Salyan in 1812 to Ali Huseynzadeh. He was brought up initially from 1822 to 1832 in his hometown by his uncle Akhund Molla Muhammad Hussein. Then he became a student of the Baku ''

mujtahid ''Ijtihad'' ( ; ' , ) is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning by an expert in Islamic law, or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with '' taqlid'' (i ...

'' Akhund Molla Ramazan, and studied with him for another six years, until 1838 when he completed the full course of Arabic sciences.

Career

After graduation, he returned to Salyan in 1839 and started teaching various subjects to local children for 6 years. He later gained higher religious education in

Najaf Najaf is the capital city of the Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam an ...

and

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

. He was appointed as

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Grand Du ...

after

Fazil Iravani Muhammad ibn Muhammad Bagher Iravani () or Fazil Iravani was an Islamic jurist and the second Sheikh ul-Islam of the Caucasus and an Ayatollah al-Uzma. Early life and education Fazil Iravani was born in Yerevan in either 1782 or 1817 to Muhamma ...

's resignation with a monthly pension of 1600

rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...

on 15 October 1852. He was appointed as head of the Spiritual Council of Transcaucasian Shia Muslims, on 5 April 1875. His deputy was Akhund Mustafa Talibzadeh, father of

Abdulla Shaig Abdulla Shaig () (25 February 1881, Tbilisi – 24 July 1959, Baku), born Abdulla Mustafa oglu Talibzadeh, was an Azerbaijani writer. Early life and education Shaig was born to Marneuli-native Azerbaijani parents, Mustafa Talibzadeh and ...

. He was described as a rather liberal-thinking cleric by Fatali Akhundzadeh and contributed to Akinchi, first Azerbaijani language newspaper. In his letter to Akhundzadeh in 1862, Yousuf Khan Mostashar al-Dowleh said of Huseinzadeh "''I don't even consider him a

mullah Mullah () is an honorific title for Islam, Muslim clergy and mosque Imam, leaders. The term is widely used in Iran and Afghanistan and is also used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and Sharia, sharia law. The title h ...

, but rather a spiritual cleric.''" Like Akhundzadeh, he was a promoter of the Latin alphabet for Azerbaijani and defended the idea that it is not incompatible with

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

and Islam. He resigned in 1884 and lived in

where he died 3 years later.

Family

He was married to the daughter of his uncle Mahammad Ali Huseynzadeh, Husniyya Khanum and had two daughters with her: # Fatima Huseinzadeh (b. 1 April 1844, d. 1890) — married to Hajji Muhammad agha, son of Hajji Mirza Hasan in

Shamakhi Shamakhi (, ) is a city in Azerbaijan and the administrative centre of the Shamakhi District. The city's estimated population was 31,704. It is famous for its traditional dancers, the Shamakhi Dancers, and also for perhaps giving its name to th ...

# Khadija Huseinzadeh – married to Molla Hussein Huseinzadeh, son of Kazim bey Huseinzadeh of Quruzma ##

## Ismail Huseynzade (1868–1941) — married to his cousin Mina (b. 1878), daughter of Fatima Huseinzadeh, had issues

Works

* ''Muallim-ul atghal fi tarighe-talimi atfal (1875, Tbilisi)'' * ''Basaul nas-fi-mamlakatul Kafkas (Nations of the country of Caucasus, uncompleted work)'' * ''Tarikhi-adabiyyati-Turk (History of Turkic literature)'' * ''Tarbiat-ul-atfal'' * ''Dilgushah''

Awards

* Order of St. Anna, 2nd class with Imperial crown (22 September 1871) *

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus'. Grades The order had four ...

, 3rd class (30 August 1881)

References

{{Religious Council of the Caucasus Azerbaijani Shia clerics 1812 births 1887 deaths Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Muslims from the Russian Empire Shia clerics from the Russian Empire